At Daily Kos, this was the quintessential week that was.
It started with the first sentence in this screed, entitled, “Why Are You Here?”
If you hate the "evil corporatist right-centrist oligarchic" Democratic Party so darn much I wonder... why are you here?
And the week pretty much ended the same way it started, with these pearls of wisdom, in another post headlined, ”Ask me Anything: Even about ugly meta.”
Wherein, we were informed by the blog’s owner that they agreed with the blog post, excerpted above, “100%.”
….Lots of meta drama the last week, particularly over this piece. I've got to say, I agree with it 100%.
This is a site focused on more and better Democrats. If that's not what you're into, then you have a couple of options as I see it. Either focus on the stuff where we can all have broad agreement (e.g. specific issues), or go agitate against Democrats somewhere else. Like I've said time and time again, it's a big internet, and if Daily Kos ain't your cup of tea, then there's no reason you to stick around and make yourself miserable…
Then I stumbled across this…
The Libertarian Dem
by kos
Daily Kos
Wed Jun 07, 2006 at 01:15 PM EDT
It's no secret that I look to the Mountain West for the future of the Democratic Party, people like Brian Schweitzer and Jon Tester. But I also look to candidates like Jim Webb in Virginia and Paul Hackett in Ohio.
And what is the common thread amongst these candidates?
They are all Libertarian Democrats.
Ack, the "L" word! But hear me out.
Traditional "libertarianism" holds that government is evil and thus must be minimized. Any and all government intrusion is bad. While practical libertarians (as opposed to those who waste their votes on the Libertarian Party) have traditionally aligned themselves with the Republicans, it's clear that the modern GOP has no qualms about trampling on personal liberties. Heck, it's become their raison d' etre.
The problem with this form of libertarianism is that it assumes that only two forces can infringe on liberty -- the government and other individuals.
The Libertarian Democrat understands that there is a third danger to personal liberty -- the corporation. The Libertarian Dem understands that corporations, left unchecked, can be huge dangers to our personal liberties.
Libertarian Dems are not hostile to government like traditional libertarians. But unlike the liberal Democrats of old times (now all but extinct), the Libertarian Dem doesn't believe government is the solution for everything. But it sure as heck is effective in checking the power of corporations.
In other words, government can protect our liberties from those who would infringe upon them -- corporations and other individuals.
So in practical terms, what does a Libertarian Dem look like? A Libertarian Dem rejects government efforts to intrude in our bedrooms and churches. A Libertarian Dem rejects government "Big Brother" efforts, such as the NSA spying of tens of millions of Americans. A Libertarian Dem rejects efforts to strip away rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights -- from the First Amendment to the 10th. And yes, that includes the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms…
[Diarist’s Note: There is lots of good stuff—truly “Democratic stuff,” in fact—in the balance of this diary. So, it’s worth a full read.]
…I am very much a Libertarian Dem, and this is exactly what my next book will be about. It's progressivism for a new century. And that's what this new breed of Democrat is building in the Mountain West and Virginia and Ohio.
So, Kos, aside from owning the joint—which IS the best damn reason of all for being here, of course—and with all due respect, and from a purely
philosophical standpoint, since it’s self-evident that you’ve focused upon
many issues in the past where Democrats do not maintain “broad agreement (e.g. specific issues),” I believe it is a completely valid question to ask:
“Why are YOU here?”
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